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Lammasu
The Lammasu, also known by their modern sobriquet Defilers, are the former angels of God who inspired and searched for truth, beauty, and inner power in ''Demon: The Fallen''. Inspiring the others to war, the Defilers were used for morale and healing spiritual wounds, strengthening the inner resolve of their fellow Fallen. When they fell, were cast into the Abyss, and then escaped, the Defilers became focused on continuing to influence humans, but not always for pure purposes.Houses of the Fallen, p.6 History History The Lammasu's purpose was to rule over the seas, creating its movement and the creatures that dwelled within it. They were also the muses of the Elohim, associated with pleasure and culture; truth, beauty, art, and more were the hold of the Angels of the Deep. The Ishhara inspired mankind and the Mammetum encouraged change, while the Adad ruled over wind and water, the elements of the sea. However, their domain of the ocean placed the Lammasu far away from humanity, and their dances went unwatched and their songs unheard. Many Lammasu, fascinated by humans but frustrated by their ability to not interact directly with them, began to feel a deep dissatisfaction with the Creator and his plan. Other Elohim constantly joked that the Nereids were the most useless of the Elohim since the Lammasu had next-to-nothing to do with God's greatest creation. Some Lammasu felt, in turn, that it was the invisible coddling of the other Houses that kept humans from having higher aspirations. The Fall and The Curse Belial, one of the most powerful of the Lammasu, was the one called to the Great Debate. He came back convinced the Elohim had to take matters into their own hands; some Nereids wanted to examine all of the options before making such a rash decision. In the end, Belial left, and took several of the Lammasu with him. In fact, more Lammasu joined the Rebellion than any other House. The Lammasu were the third House to present themselves before Adam and Eve during the Fall; they gave them the gift of water to drink. The curse placed by Michael upon the Lammasu was a twist on their original purpose. Humanity would continue to grow and learn, but become so involved with seeking pleasure that all that the Lammasu hoped to teach them would become lost among that pursuit. The Rebellion Many of the Lammasu took pride and pleasure in their decision to continue on in defiance of the Creator. However, as they were mostly creators and not warriors, they had a difficult time finding a place in the Rebellion and in the Legions. In the end, many Lammasu went into the Silver Legion because of its role of discovery over destruction. The Lammasu also found themselves with a limited role in the war's early years because they had also been exiled from their domains in the sea. The Nereids mostly helped the Annunaki with the construction of the Citadels of the Fallen. Later on, they found a role as muses to the warriors of the Fallen, spurring them into battle with glorious and devastating songs and weaving chants and propaganda to help stir the cause. The Nereids also found themselves among humanity at last. They set about inspiring humans to work through dreams and omens, making them proud of their tasks and competitive with each other to help the Fallen. However, their tasks with humans changed after the atrocity at Sagun and the splitting of the Legions; some Defilers began experimenting on humans with magic and rituals to see what powers mortals could hold, including abilities needed to fight in the war. The Lammasu also had a role in creating the horrific nephilim, specifically Tiamet, one of the most powerful of the Nereids. Given an artifact by the Annunaki Zipacna to take on a mortal body, Tiamet was the father of the first of them. The nephilim drove both Tiamet and the other Lammasu to distraction, and at last enabled Heaven's forces to take down the Nereids once and for all. They were driven into the Abyss, their connections to humanity almost completely severed. Common Traits (...) Faction Alignments Defilers are most likely to be Faustians or Raveners. In the first case, they are likely to be captivated by humanity - reacting with delight, or at least respect, to their renewed relationship to mankind. Alternatively, some Defilers are disappointed by modern human civilization, and yet still become Faustians. They yearn for the beautiful vision of the world they had before the war, and recognize that humans are an essential part of that vision. The Defiler Raveners act like spurned lovers, exacting an often subtle (but always unforgettable) revenge on those who have inflicted such a crushing betrayal. They break hearts and minds, and spread discord so as to watch groups crumble under bitter recriminations and violence. Some Defilers may well be fascinated by the quests of the Luciferans or Cryptics, depending upon their associations and experiences in the war. Very few of them become Reconcilers, though. Even if they wished it, most Defilers know that there is no going back to Paradise, and now that the old barriers have been broken, they cannot be rebuilt. Weakness Defilers can be frustrated, contrary creatures who can strike off on tangents and drag a whole party along into a spiraling morass of trivialities. They tend to possess people caught in the throes of emotional turmoil and vanity, thus making them wrathful, defensive, and often aggressively dominant and self-assertive when they are emotionally offended. Trivia The Lammasu were fantastic creatures from Mesopotamia who were said to have the faces of men, the bodies of lions, and the wings of eagles. They were fiercely loyal guardians who would attack the purest evil (or good, in some cases). Many compare them to the Sphinx. References *DTF: Demon: The Fallen Rulebook, p. 24, 32-33, 38, 98-99 Category:Houses (DTF) Category:Lammasu Category:Demon: The Fallen stubs Category:Demon: The Fallen glossary